TIME - The Myth About Exercise

In its August 17 edition TIME magazine dedicated the cover story to the role of exercise in weight loss.

In his article The Myth About Exercise John Cloud postulates that, exercise is "good for you, but it won't make you lose weight" and "why it's what you eat that really counts."

Cloud concedes that there are significant benefits to regular physical exercise: "People who regularly exercise are at significantly lower risk for all manner of diseases — those of the heart in particular. They less often develop cancer, diabetes and many other illnesses." But he also states that "the past few years of obesity research show that the role of exercise in weight loss has been wildly overstated."

"'In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless,' says Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn't as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly ... The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder."

The article conludes that "it's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain."

In the few days since its publication the article has created quiet a bit of controversial discussion on the internet. The core message though is very consistent with the fundamental premise of metabolic balance® that an individualized nutrition will lead to a healthy metabolism that regulates and maintains your perfect personal weight.

To learn more about the metabolic balance® all-natural weight management program, contact metabolic balance® of Indiana at (317) 564-2333 or send an email to Sylvia@metabolicbalance.us.

Click here to read the full TIME magazine article The Myth About Exercise.